United States v. Hopkins
Opinion
Dr. Mark Hopkins filed a motion under
Dr. Hopkins filed his § 2255 motion on March 29, 2017, following the Supreme Court's decision in
Luis v. United States
, --- U.S. ----,
I. BACKGROUND
A. Trial and Direct Appeal
1. Indictment and Pretrial Proceedings
Dr. Hopkins and his wife Sharon Hopkins were tax protestors. They failed to pay income taxes for more than 13 years. In April 2009, a grand jury indicted them on one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, in violation of
In June 2010, Dr. and Ms. Hopkins moved to end the required payments and have the funds returned. They asserted the payments had "drain[ed] their ability to pay" their lawyers, "thereby causing them to ultimately lose their constitutionally protected right of choice of counsel" under the Sixth Amendment. Aplt. App. at 121. The district court ordered the funds be returned to the Hopkinses. But before the funds' release, the IRS served notice of a federal tax lien on the court clerk. The clerk then filed an interpleader action for clarification as to the proper distribution of the funds. In response, the district court denied the Hopkinses' emergency motion to release the funds. Ms. Hopkins's attorney-who, the Hopkinses claim, "was an integral part of the defense team" for both of them, Aplt. Reply Br. at 8-withdrew on July 15, 2010. 2
2. Conviction and Sentence
A jury convicted the Hopkinses on all counts. The district court sentenced Dr. Hopkins to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release. It ordered the Hopkinses to pay more than $1,700,000 in restitution. 3
3. Direct Appeal
The Hopkinses filed a joint appeal, and this court affirmed their convictions and sentences.
See
United States v. Hopkins
,
In deciding the right to counsel of choice issue, we relied on
Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States
,
In
Monsanto
, decided the same day, the Supreme Court extended
Caplin & Drysdale
's holding to authorize freezing of a defendant's forfeitable assets before conviction to prevent dissipation, even when doing so prevents the defendant from paying counsel. 491 U.S. at 602,
In the Hopkinses' appeal, we concluded that these cases foreclosed Ms. Hopkins's Sixth Amendment challenge. "[N]either the Fifth nor the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution requires Congress to permit a defendant to use assets adjudged to be forfeitable to pay that defendant's legal fees."
Hopkins
,
Following this court's decision, Dr. Hopkins did not seek certiorari from the United
*695
States Supreme Court. His conviction thus became final no later than June 11, 2013.
See
Gonzalez v. Thaler
,
B. Luis v. United States
On March 30, 2016, nearly three years after Dr. Hopkins's conviction became final, the Supreme Court decided
Luis v. United States
, --- U.S. ----,
The Supreme Court agreed. Observing that "[t]he Sixth Amendment right to counsel grants a defendant 'a fair opportunity to secure counsel of his own choice,' "
The Luis decision drew two dissenting opinions. Justice Kennedy, joined by Justice Alito, called the Court's holding "unprecedented," adding that the decision "ignore[d] this Court's precedents and distort[ed]
*696 the Sixth Amendment right to counsel." Id. at 1103 (Kennedy, J., dissenting). He reasoned that Caplin & Drysdale and Monsanto "make clear that a defendant has no Sixth Amendment right to spend forfeitable assets (or assets that will be forfeitable) on an attorney." Id. Those cases involved assets that "belong[ed] to the defendant," just like Ms. Luis's assets, but because there was probable cause to believe the assets would be forfeited upon conviction, they could be seized or frozen before trial. Id. at 1106. Accordingly, Justice Kennedy reasoned, the plurality's distinction between "tainted" and "untainted" assets lacked support. In a separate dissent, Justice Kagan expressed doubts about the correctness of Monsanto 's holding, but concluded that it should control the case. Id. at 1112 (Kagan, J., dissenting).
C. District Court § 2255 Proceedings
1. Section 2255(f) Statute of Limitations
Section 2255(f) imposes a one-year statute of limitations on a prisoner filing a § 2255 motion. As relevant to this case, the one-year period runs from "the latest of ... the date on which the judgment of conviction becomes final," id. § 2255(f)(1), or "the date on which the right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme Court, if that right has been newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review," id. § 2255(f)(3).
2. Dr. Hopkins's § 2255 motion
On March 29, 2017,
8
Dr. Hopkins filed a pro se motion to vacate his conviction under
3. District Court Ruling
The district court dismissed Dr. Hopkins's § 2255 motion as untimely.
United States v. Hopkins
, No. 2:09-CR-00863 MCA,
*697
It is not clear whether the district court dismissed Dr. Hopkins's motion because
Luis
did not recognize a new right or because that right was not retroactively applicable to Dr. Hopkins's collateral proceeding. The court's order contains statements pointing in both directions. Immediately after setting forth the test for whether a Supreme Court decision announces a new right, the district court stated that "
Luis
was based primarily on the application of two existing cases,"
Caplin & Drysdale
and
Monsanto
, suggesting it did not view the
Luis
rule as new.
II. DISCUSSION
The single issue on appeal is whether Dr. Hopkins's motion was time-barred under the one-year time limit in
A. Standard of Review
"[W]e review the district court's legal rulings on a § 2255 motion de novo and its findings of fact for clear error."
United States v. Miller
,
B. Analysis
A § 2255 motion typically must be filed within one year of "the date on which the judgment of conviction becomes final."
1. Timeliness Waiver
Dr. Hopkins argues that the Government may not challenge the timeliness of his § 2255 motion because it did not file a response to the motion in the district court. We disagree.
In a § 2255 proceeding, "[t]he respondent is not required to answer the motion unless a judge so orders." Rule 5(a), Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings in the U.S. District Courts. Under Rule 5(a), the Government was not required to file a response to Dr. Hopkins's motion absent an order from the district court. Because the district court never ordered a response, the first time the Government was required to address Dr. Hopkins's arguments was in this appeal.
See
United States v. Lopez-Aguilar
,
*698 2. Timeliness of Dr. Hopkins's § 2255 Motion
a. Legal background
To determine whether Dr. Hopkins's motion was timely under § 2255(f)(3), we must evaluate whether
Luis
recognized a new right that is retroactively applicable on collateral review. When, as in
Luis
, the Supreme Court has not said whether a right is new or retroactive, we look for guidance to
Teague v. Lane
,
Teague
provides guidance on (1) whether a Supreme Court decision recognized a new right and (2) whether the right is retroactively applicable on collateral review.
See
i. Newly recognized rights under § 2255
As other courts have done, we have used the words "right" and "rule" interchangeably in discussing whether a Supreme Court decision restarts the one-year statute of limitations under § 2255(f)(3).
See
United States v. Greer
,
Under
Teague
, a rule is not "new" if it was "dictated by precedent existing at the time the defendant's conviction became final,"
A Supreme Court decision recognizing a right over a dissent is less likely to be dictated by precedent.
12
For example, in
*699
Chang Hong
, we held that the Supreme Court announced a new rule in
Padilla v. Kentucky
,
ii. General bar on retroactivity and exceptions
"It is generally agreed that both lower federal courts and the Supreme Court can decide the retroactive applicability of a new rule of constitutional law announced by the Supreme Court when reviewing an initial petition" under § 2255. Brian R. Means,
Federal Habeas Manual
§ 9A:30 (2018).
13
Under
Teague
, a new constitutional rule of criminal law or procedure is not generally applicable retroactively to cases on collateral review.
First
, newly recognized substantive rules-those "forbid[ding] criminal punishment of certain primary conduct" or "prohibit[ing] a certain category of punishment for a class of defendants because of their status or offense"-are not subject to the general retroactivity bar.
Montgomery v. Louisiana
, --- U.S. ----,
For example, in
Welch
, the Supreme Court stated that its decision in
Johnson v. United States
, --- U.S. ----,
Second
, "watershed rules of criminal procedure implicating the fundamental fairness and accuracy of the criminal proceeding" are not subject to the general rule against retroactivity.
Beard v. Banks
,
Since
Teague,
the Supreme Court has never identified a rule that meets this description.
See
Beard
, 542 U.S. at 417,
Very few cases discuss the retroactivity of Supreme Court decisions extending the Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice, and we have not found a case holding that any such decision was retroactively applicable. The Seventh Circuit has even held that
United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez
,
b. Luis recognized a new right that is not retroactively applicable
Dr. Hopkins filed his § 2255 motion more than one year after his conviction became final. His motion would be timed-barred under § 2255(f)(1) unless he could show under § 2255(f)(3) that the right recognized in
Luis
is new and retroactive. We conclude that
Luis
recognized a new right. But because we also conclude that
Luis
is neither a
Teague
substantive rule nor a "watershed rule[ ] of criminal procedure,"
Beard
, 542 U.S. at 417,
i. Luis recognized a new right
We disagree with the district court's apparent ruling that
Luis
did not recognize a new right for § 2255(f)(3) purposes.
See
Hopkins
,
The dissenting Justices' statements in
Luis
support that the Court established a new rule. Justice Kennedy referred to the plurality's ruling that untainted assets could not be frozen as "unprecedented," stating that it "ignore[d] ... precedent[ ]."
Luis
, 136 S.Ct. at 1103 (Kennedy, J., dissenting). And Justice Kagan believed
Monsanto
controlled.
Id.
at 1112 (Kagan, J., dissenting). Thus, at least some "reasonable jurists,"
Chaidez
,
ii. Luis is not retroactive on collateral review
The Supreme Court has not stated that the rule it announced in Luis would apply retroactively to cases on collateral review. As a result, the Luis rule can satisfy § 2255(f)(3) and render Dr. Hopkins's motion timely only if it qualifies for one of Teague 's two exceptions to the retroactivity bar. Because Luis does not qualify for either exception, Dr. Hopkins's motion was untimely under § 2255(f)(3).
1) Change in substantive law
As Dr. Hopkins appears to acknowledge,
20
Teague
's first exception does not apply.
Luis
addressed whether the government could freeze or seize certain assets depending on whether those assets were tainted or untainted by the defendant's crime. It did not exempt any conduct from criminal punishment or spare any defendants from punishment because of their status or the nature of their offense.
See
Montgomery
, 136 S.Ct. at 732. Rather than "plac[ing] ... certain kinds of primary, private individual conduct beyond the power of the criminal law-making authority,"
Williams
,
2) Watershed procedural rule
Luis also does not qualify for Teague 's second exception because it did *703 not announce a watershed rule of criminal procedure. As discussed above, the Supreme Court has not held a new rule of criminal procedure to be retroactive since Teague and has repeatedly stated that Gideon is the only such rule that would qualify. And we have found no lower federal court case holding that a new Supreme Court rule on the right to counsel of choice should apply retroactively on collateral review.
Dr. Hopkins argues that
Luis
fashioned a watershed rule because, like the
Gideon
right to counsel, the right to use untainted assets to pay for counsel of choice "affect[s] the determination of a defendant's guilt." Aplt. Reply Br. at 19. This is so because "the inability to present a desired defense by counsel of choice does increase the likelihood of inaccurate convictions and fundamental procedural fairness."
The right to counsel of choice and the
Gideon
right to court-appointed counsel are distinct rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment. The right to counsel of choice concerns the ability to select a particular lawyer and "does not extend to defendants who require counsel to be appointed for them."
Gonzalez-Lopez
,
Deprivation of the right to counsel of choice can be a structural error that "affec[ts] the framework within which the trial proceeds,"
Gonzalez-Lopez
,
The new right recognized in
Luis
does not meet the
Whorton
criteria for a watershed rule. Dr. Hopkins has not shown that extending pretrial protection to untainted assets so that he can pay counsel of choice is "necessary to prevent an impermissibly large risk of an inaccurate conviction."
Whorton
,
We are not asked to decide whether the right to counsel of choice is itself a watershed procedural rule, but rather whether Luis 's extension of that right qualifies as a watershed rule. Luis 's new application protecting the right to use untainted, forfeitable assets to pay for counsel of choice is not an extension of the core right to appointed counsel recognized in Gideon .
*704
Before
Luis
, defendants who could not pay counsel of their choice because their untainted assets were seized or frozen were not left without legal representation. They could instead hire a less expensive lawyer or rely on appointed counsel. After
Luis
, they may pay counsel of their choice. Because the right to counsel of choice is not the same as the right to have counsel at all, and because
Luis
's protection of the right to use untainted assets to hire counsel of choice is not an extension of the
Gideon
right,
Luis
is not sufficient to meet
Teague
's second exception. In short,
Luis
is not
Gideon
, and
Luis
does not extend
Gideon
.
See
Chang Hong
,
III. CONCLUSION
The new right recognized in Luis is not retroactively applicable because (1) it did not change what conduct is punishable under substantive criminal law and (2) it is not a watershed procedural rule. As a result, Dr. Hopkins cannot rely on Luis to satisfy the timeliness requirements of § 2255(f)(3). His § 2255 motion was properly dismissed as untimely. We affirm the district court's judgment.
See
United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez
,
The Government contends that Dr. Hopkins's counsel of choice represented him throughout the trial. The district court's docket indicates that after Dr. Hopkins retained counsel and his court-appointed attorney withdrew in June 2009, his retained counsel remained counsel of record throughout the trial. When the district court considered the § 2255 motion, it did not consider whether Dr. Hopkins had been deprived of his right to counsel of choice at trial. Because we conclude Dr. Hopkins's motion was untimely, we do not reach this issue.
Ms. Hopkins was sentenced to 97 months followed by three years of supervised release.
See
United States v. Hopkins
,
Dr. Hopkins's only argument on appeal was that the "district court erroneously applied the offense level enhancement for obstruction of justice pursuant to [United States Sentencing Guidelines] § 3C1.1."
Hopkins
,
Title
Section 1345(a)(2) allows for pretrial freezing of property "obtained as a result of" certain healthcare or banking violations, property "traceable" to the crime, and other "property of equivalent value."
Justice Thomas concurred in the court's judgment because "constitutional rights necessarily protect the prerequisites for their exercise," such that "[w]ithout constitutional protection for at least some of a defendant's assets, the Government could nullify the right to counsel of choice." Luis , 136 S.Ct. at 1096, 1098 (Thomas, J., concurring). He noted that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel originally encompassed "only the right to hire counsel of choice." Id. at 1097.
The
Luis
decision was handed down on March 30, 2016. Dr. Hopkins's motion was filed with the district court on April 6, 2017. Because Dr. Hopkins was a prisoner and filed his motion pro se, he may rely on the "prison mailbox rule," which makes the date on which he presented his motion to prison officials for mailing the filing date for timeliness purposes.
See
Price v. Philpot
,
Although Dr. and Ms. Hopkins were indicted and tried together, Ms. Hopkins is not a party to this § 2255 proceeding. Following the
Luis
decision, Ms. Hopkins filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, which the district court construed as a § 2255 motion and dismissed on the same grounds as it dismissed Dr. Hopkins's motion.
See
United States v. Hopkins
, No. 2:09-CR-00863 MCA,
The parties do not address Rule 5(a). But even as to the argument Dr. Hopkins makes, the Government did not "intentionally relinquish[ ]" its timeliness defense in any filing.
Wheeler v. Falk
,
As discussed above, when the Government filed its brief in this court, it raised a timeliness defense. Unlike in
Wood
and
Mulay
, the Government never suggested it was not contesting the timeliness of Dr. Hopkins's motion. The Government thus has not "intentionally relinquished" its argument that Dr. Hopkins's motion was untimely.
Wheeler
,
Although not precedential, we find the reasoning of the unpublished decisions cited in this opinion to be instructive. See 10th Cir. R. 32.1 ("Unpublished decisions are not precedential, but may be cited for their persuasive value."); see also Fed. R. App. P. 32.1.
Justice O'Connor wrote
Teague
's plurality opinion, which a majority of the Court adopted in
Penry v. Lynaugh
,
Even a unanimous Supreme Court decision can produce a new rule when the Court arrives at its decision by choosing among several plausible readings of existing precedent. In
Johnson v. McKune
,
The Government appears to argue that Dr. Hopkins's motion is untimely because (1) § 2255(f)(3) can provide relief based on a "newly recognized right" only when another court has previously held the right to be retroactive and (2) no court has done so as to
Luis
.
See
Aplee. Br. at 6 (quoting
United States v. Hoon
,
The Court elaborated on the substantive impact of Johnson :
Before Johnson, the Act applied to any person who possessed a firearm after three violent felony convictions, even if one or more of those convictions fell under only the residual clause. An offender in that situation faced 15 years to life in prison. After Johnson, the same person engaging in the same conduct is no longer subject to the Act and faces at most 10 years in prison.
Welch , 136 S.Ct. at 1265.
"[I]n our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him."
Gideon
,
In
Johnson v. Zerbst
,
On direct appeal, this court also did not anticipate
Luis
's conclusion that
Caplin & Drysdale
and
Monsanto
would not apply to the Hopkinses' escrowed funds. We said that, just as the government in those cases had an interest in "obtaining full recovery of all forfeitable assets," the IRS had a "longstanding, strong interest in collecting delinquent taxes and securing its interests in delinquent taxpayer's property through liens and levies."
Hopkins
,
Title
Dr. Hopkins's position on whether Luis stated a new rule appeared to shift from his briefing to oral argument. In his brief, he contends that Luis "applied a well-established constitutional principle to govern a case which is closely analogous to those which have been previously considered in the prior case law." Aplt. Br. at 8. In the alternative, he argues that Luis qualifies for retroactivity under both of the Teague exceptions. See id. at 15-18. At oral argument, counsel for Dr. Hopkins advanced only the alternative argument, contending that Luis recognized a new right that qualifies for retroactive applicability as a watershed rule of criminal procedure. When asked, "You're saying it was a new rule?," counsel responded, "Yes, Your Honor. I think it's a new rule." Oral Arg. at 6:02-6:08.
Dr. Hopkins's counsel stated at oral argument that the § 2255 motion is timely only if Luis qualifies for Teague 's second exception:
The Court: I take it that you have to rely on a Teague exception to survive on this appeal.
Counsel: I do.
The Court: And so, your case ... rises or falls on the watershed procedural rule.
Counsel: It rises or falls on that. I absolutely believe that.
Oral Arg. at 15:10-15:28.
In the
Gideon
right-to-counsel context, the Eleventh Circuit has allowed for retroactive application of a new rule that extends the
Gideon
right to counsel on the theory that such rules are inseparable from the "bedrock procedural element" of
Gideon
.
Howard v. United States
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Mark HOPKINS, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 23 cases
- Status
- Published